India will continue to buy Russian oil, despite threats from US President Donald Trump, explaining this by the fact that the contracts concluded are long-term and not so easy to terminate.
Reuters reports this, citing sources.
Donald Trump has stressed that India will face additional sanctions for buying Russian weapons and oil, in addition to a new 25% tariff on exports from India to the US.
However, India is not going to make “immediate changes” because of Washington’s policy. One of the sources told Reuters that India’s imports of Russian crude helped the country avoid the consequences of the global rise in oil prices. Unlike Iranian and Venezuelan oil, Russian crude is not subject to direct sanctions, and New Delhi buys it at a price below the current ceiling price set by the European Union.
The other day, Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal noted at a press briefing that India has a "steady and time-tested partnership" with Russia and is considering offers on the market, taking into account the global situation and certain other circumstances.
Meanwhile, other sources told Reuters earlier that four Indian state-owned refineries stopped buying Russian oil last week.
- India is the worldʼs third-largest oil importer and the largest buyer of Russian crude oil transported by sea.
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